Hearts Aren’t Just For Humans

This dog is precious no matter what but given my obsession with hearts, the fact that (s)he has a heart marking on the side of the tummy-tum-tum makes her/him that much more adorable to me.

Some scholars believe that peoples’ attraction to the heart as a symbol is tied into how hearts resemble women’s vulvas. And that in some interesting way, that that is why girls more so than boys may draw them more frequently as children.

The fact that much of my research relates to vaginas/vulvas and that I have always loved hearts is not, therefore, lost on me. But I also think I’ve always liked hearts just because I’ve always liked what they represent: romance, attraction, connection, closeness, intimacy, love. I used to spend inordinate amounts of time drawing and coloring hearts, flowers, kittens and rainbows [Yes, I was and am that kind of girl - today, after all, I am wearing a bright raspberry pink dress to work. I make no apologies for my nature or nurture.]

Anyway, you can imagine my joy this morning to find a link in my Inbox for a web site that showed 5 animals with heart markings (thanks, J). With a little sleuthing, I found nine more. For someone like me who likes heart and is in the market for a pet, this was a fun addition to an already happy-filled morning. Oh, and I definitely recommend clicking the puppy picture for a larger view. Please excuse my picture tags though (you’ll see).

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Dr. Debby Herbenick is a sex researcher at Indiana University, sexual health educator at The Kinsey Institute, columnist, and author of five books about sex and love. Learn more about her work at www.sexualhealth.indiana.edu.

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